WD 120 GIG HARD DRIVE NOISE

[GM homepc]

I've got a slave hard drive that is making constant bearing noise since
last week -- it is quite loud sometimes. I thought is was a noisy case
fan that was failing, but it's coming from the hard drive itself. The
following is a print out:

WDC WD1200JB-32EVA0 ATA Device
Manufacturer Western Digital
Business Unit/Brand Enterprise/WD RE3; WD RE2 (3-platter)
Heads 16
Cylinders 16383
Device type Fixed
ATA Standard ATA/ATAPI-6
48-bit LBA Supported
Serial Number WD-WMAEL1129174
Interface PATA
Capacity 117GB
Real size 120,034,123,776 bytes
S.M.A.R.T
01 Read Error Rate 200 (199 worst) Data 0000000000
03 Spin-Up Time 153 (152) Data 0000000B43
04 Start/Stop Count 099 (099) Data 0000000442
05 Reallocated Sectors Count 200 (200) Data 0000000000
07 Seek Error Rate 200 (200) Data 0000000000
09 Power-On Hours (POH) 020 (020) Data 000000E43C
0A Spin Retry Count 100 (100) Data 0000000000
0B Recalibration Retries 100 (100) Data 0000000000
0C Device Power Cycle Count 099 (099) Data 000000043B
C2 Temperature 120 (253) Data 000000001E
C4 Reallocation Event Count 200 (200) Data 0000000000
C5 Current Pending Sector Count 200 (200) Data 0000000000
C6 Uncorrectable Sector Count 200 (200) Data 0000000000
C7 UltraDMA CRC Error Count 200 (253) Data 0000000000
C8 Write Error Rate / Multi-Zone Error Rate 200 (155) Data
0000000000
Temperature 27 °C
Temperature Range ok (less than 50 °C)
Status Good

I've checked for bad sectors and defragmented it. The free space has
been wiped. Everything looks good except for the bearing noise that
seems to be getting worse.

I was thinking of replacing it with a Western Digital WD1002FAEX 1TB
Caviar Black Hard Drive - 1TB drive when it comes on sale locally.

Two questions --

Can my current drive die at any time due to this bearing noise? I've
backed up everything of value already.
Is the replacement drive a worthy choice?

[Frosty]

Post by GM homepc
Two questions --
Can my current drive die at any time due to this bearing noise? I've
backed up everything of value already.
Is the replacement drive a worthy choice?

I'd be more worried if it was more of a loud random noiuse then constant
whine, but yeah when they whine its time for a replacement. My concern would
be whether your system can handle a 1tb.

[GM homepc]

Post by Frosty

Post by GM homepc
Two questions --
Can my current drive die at any time due to this bearing noise? I've
backed up everything of value already.
Is the replacement drive a worthy choice?

I'd be more worried if it was more of a loud random noiuse then constant
whine, but yeah when they whine its time for a replacement. My concern would
be whether your system can handle a 1tb.

It's not a whine, but a kind of rapid rattling noise that seems to go
away for a while and then return getting progressively louder. When I
shut off the PC and restart it, the noise goes away for a while and then
returns.

I'm sure the system can handle 1tb. We bought it new last Feb at CA.
The package offered 1tb, but I opted for the SATA .5tb drive for the
operating system. The slave drive is from my old PC that was
transplanted over.